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DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	12 Months Ended
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	Dec. 31, 2012
Description of Business (Abstract)
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS Background Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its subsidiaries ("Quest Diagnostics" or the "Company") is the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services providing insights that empower and enable patients, physicians, hospitals, integrated delivery networks, health plans, employers and others to make better healthcare decisions. The Company offers the broadest access in the United States to diagnostic information services through its nationwide network of laboratories and Company-owned patient service centers. Quest Diagnostics provides interpretive consultation through the largest medical and scientific staff in the industry, with hundreds of M.D.s and Ph.D.s, primarily located in the United States, many of whom are recognized leaders in their fields. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of diagnostic information services, including routine testing, esoteric or gene-based testing and anatomic pathology testing and the leading provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry in North America. The Company is also a leading provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs-of-abuse. The Company's diagnostics products business manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits. Quest Diagnostics empowers healthcare organizations and clinicians with robust information technology solutions. During 2012, Quest Diagnostics processed approximately 147 million test requisitions through its extensive network of laboratories throughout the United States.